TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday the central bank will patiently maintain its ultra-loose monetary as there is some distance to sustainably achieve its 2% inflation target.

"We expect inflation to quite clearly slow below 2%" toward the middle of the current fiscal year, Ueda told parliament.

"Inflation is likely to rebound thereafter ... though there is high uncertainty" on the outlook, he added.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)